Home is where the heart is. (for Neil)

[echolls_cursed]

A lot of walking and one half-assed fight had brought Logan back to the hut. For some reason, he expected it to look different. Abandoned maybe. But no, it looked the same as it had the morning he'd left it. Yappy dog and all.

Max was jumping around in his pen, barking like a lunatic, and Logan hissed at him a bit as he reached the door. "Shut up!" he snapped quietly. "Jesus Christ, fucking dog."

Of course that didn't stop him from leaning over and giving the small animal a scratch between it's ears.

He thought about knocking first... but it was his hut too, and he wasn't going to act like a stranger. Yanking open the door he headed right inside, trying to ignore his nerves as he slipped into what used to be their room. His eyes settled on Neil instantly, half asleep and buried under a blanket... Logan had to stop himself from walking right over and asking the other boy if he was okay.

Instead he just stood there, like an idiot.

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[little_moons]

Huffing out an exasperated sigh, I just look at him for a while, my hands dangling at my sides and me standing here looking drained. I can't believe it's only been four days. It feels like I haven't slept or relaxed in weeks.

"I know that I have a choice, Logan," I tell him calmly, or as calmly as I can manage. "I know that I should probably kick you out on your ass, but I don't want to. We fucked up, trying to get fucking married, anyway. And I know I'd get over it, I'd learn to fucking survive or whatever the hell without you, but I don't want to, okay?"

[echolls-cursed.livejournal.com]

Logan nodded a bit, tilting his head back so he could look up at Neil.

"You want your necklace?" he asked, as if they hadn't just been shouting at one another. As if he hadn't vanished for four days. As if somehow that would make things better.

[little_moons]

I think I probably give him a pretty comical look of confusion. Maybe I'm not even shocked anymore, the weird ass shit that comes out of his mouth sometimes.

"Why?" I ask, because I want to know what he think's it'll mean now. Does he think it'll mean anything or is he just trying to shut me up? Like a fucking bamboo necklace will do that. I'm not a fucking girl.

[echolls-cursed.livejournal.com]

"Because I made it for you," Logan replied simply, pulling a face of his own. A face that said something like 'Why else?' or, more likely, 'duh'.

[little_moons]

"You made it for the wedding," I point out, returning his look. I'm not even really arguing, I just don't understand why he's even asking me. Like it matters now. Whatever.

[echolls-cursed.livejournal.com]

"Whatever," Logan scowled dropping it onto the bed. "I just thought you might still want it. there doesn't have to be a damn wedding for you to wear a necklace."

[little_moons]

"I know that," I insist, sighing as I move to kneel on the bed, shuffling across the mattress until I'm sitting next to him. I pick the necklace up from where he dropped it, just a little piece of leather cord and handmade wooden beads... the necklace he and I sat there on the rec room floor making less than a week ago. "Yeah, I want it," I say, reaching up to try and tie it around my own neck.

[echolls-cursed.livejournal.com]

Logan watched, reaching out and brushing his fingers over the beads once Neil had it on. "It looks good on you," he told the other boy quietly.

[little_moons]

Reaching up to touch the beads, I tilt my chin down to try and see them, but the necklace sits just at the hollow of my throat and my eyes won't tilt down that way. So, I pick up the other discarded strand of beads and hold it out to him with a shrug. Only seems fair, right?

[echolls-cursed.livejournal.com]

Logan took the necklace, looking it over for a moment before slipping it around his neck and knotting it loosely at the back.

[little_moons]

"You don't have to wear it if you don't want to. I just thought you might," I shrug, scooting over on the bed to lean against the wall next to him. And I mean it. I feel stupid enough making such a big deal about rings or whatever before, when we were planning that whole fucking disaster.

[echolls-cursed.livejournal.com]

"I know. I want to though," Logan shrugged, looking over at Neil. "I left all my stuff at Veronica's. I'll have to go get it at some point, before she decides she hates my gun enough to throw it in the ocean."

[little_moons]

I bite back the automatic 'You were staying with Veronica?' that pops into my head. Christ, I'll bet he had fun.

Instead I just shrug, reaching out to run my fingers over his necklace and then letting my hand fall away. "You've still got clothes here. You left your stupid train pajamas," I say, my mouth curving into the closest thing to amusement I've shown all day.

[echolls-cursed.livejournal.com]

"Shut up, they're warm," Logan snorted. "But yeah, whatever, she won't notice that I'm not there. Haven't really been there at all. Just sort of dumped my stuff in the corner."

[little_moons]

I nod, because I figure he just sort of wandered around the island the last few days, just like I did that week we were... whatever we were, and I left with my one stupid backpack and didn't know where the fuck to go.

"Last I talked to Joe he didn't know where the fuck you were. He figured you weren't still in the jungle... But that was a couple of days ago, I guess."

[echolls-cursed.livejournal.com]

"I saw him the other day," Logan shrugged. "Joe worries too much, that's all."

Getting to his feet, Logan started to dig through his clothes, picking out the stupid turtle shirt and his shorts. The sweater the bin had given him was a bit to warm for the tropical weather, and he'd been itching to get changed.

Pulling off the green and blue argyle abomination, he let his skin cool as he turned the shirt right-side out. He looked down at the bruise forming on his abdomen, and pulled a face, silently wondering if maybe it was bad enough that it needed looking at.

Probably not. He'd had worse in the past.

"The box keeps giving me sweaters," he told Neil, as if that would explain his sudden need to get changed.

[little_moons]

"Jesus," I mumble, looking at the bruise on his stomach. It's already dark and angry looking. I know that Logan looks for fights, and I usually don't give a shit who started what or who he was fighting with, but this time I'm really fucking pissed off. Probably because it's partially my fault, but whatever. And it's stupid how much it bothers me, thinking about anyone calling me a hooker or whatever the fuck to him. Logan's always known what I am. What I was. It's the fucking truth, so why the hell should it matter?

"It's trying to make you miserable," I say, like its the most obvious thing ever. Sometimes its still weird as hell talking about a clothes box like it's a person.

On cue, Max hops up from his bed, bounding over and trying to claim the sweater as his. I snort out a laugh, flopping over onto my side lazily as I watch Logan finish getting dressed.

[echolls-cursed.livejournal.com]

Logan did his best to try and shove the small snimal away, but it was damn sure that it needed that sweater, and Logan relented. Max shook his hed, shaking the sweater around as much as he could, obviously trying to get Logan to tug on it again.

When he was dressed again, he grabbed the other end of the shirt tightly, almost laughing as Max bounced around and growled, trying to pull it away from him.

"Yeah, well, I guess I should be glad it gave me anything at all to wear," he snorted, looking over at Neil.

[little_moons]

"You're gonna teach him to tear up our shit," I mumble, cracking a barely noticeable smile.

[echolls-cursed.livejournal.com]

"And I'll still blame you, cause he's your dog," Logan snorted, letting go of the shirt and laughing as Max stumbled backwards and dragged the sweater over to Neil.

[little_moons]

Leaning over the edge of the bed, I take one end of the sweater, humoring the little guy for a while by half-heartedly playing tug of war with him. He's just a fucking puppy, he won't understand I'm too fucking tired to really play with him. Just drained.

"Yeah, whatever," I mumble, knowing better than to make the mistake of saying he's our dog again.

[echolls-cursed.livejournal.com]

Heading over to the bed again, Logan stepped past Max and settled in beside Neil, stroking his fingers through the other boy's hair.

"I really did miss you."

[little_moons]

Max grunts in annoyance when I let go of the sweater and roll over so I can look at Logan, trying not to lean into the touch too much.

"I know," I murmur, shutting my eyes and letting out a sigh. "You really fucked me over, you know?" I ask, voice sounding thin and wary, but I make no effort to pull away. I don't even want to. How fucked up is that?

[echolls-cursed.livejournal.com]

"Yeah, I know," Logan said quietly. "I wasn't trying to though. That wasn't what I was trying to do."

[little_moons]

"Yeah... just, next time you decide to do something stupid, just don't try and talk yourself into thinking it's for my own good or whatever," I mumble, opening my eyes to look at him, one corner of my mouth lifting into something that's almost a smile.